Mom charged with abuse after toddler found vomiting off hotel balcony


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ST. GEORGE — A woman who police say they found passed out on the floor of her hotel room while her 1-year-old daughter was left unattended and vomiting on a second floor balcony has been charged with abuse.

Amanda Lee Gardner, 36, was charged Friday in 5th District Court with abuse of a disabled child, a third-degree felony, and intoxication, a class C misdemeanor.

Police say Gardner was staying in a second floor room at the Roadway Inn, 999 E. Red Hills Parkway, on Thursday. About 10:15 p.m., other hotel patrons noticed a 1-year-old girl walking around the balcony.

"What caught their attention was this baby appeared to be sick. I guess it was vomiting and it looked like this baby needed help and there was nobody around this child," said St. George Police Sgt. Sam Despain.

The person who called 911 told dispatchers that an unconscious woman was on the floor of the room, according to charging documents.


What caught their attention was this baby appeared to be sick. I guess it was vomiting and it looked like this baby needed help and there was nobody around this child.

–St. George Police Sgt. Sam Despain


When officers arrived, they found Gardner "who was passed out and unresponsive to officers," Despain said, adding that investigators determined she had passed out from alcohol consumption.

"I shook her shoulder, which awoke her. I attempted to ask Amanda her name, but her speech was slurred and not understandable," the arresting officer wrote in a report.

Both Gardner and her daughter were taken to a local hospital. The toddler was treated for hypothermia and dehydration before being taken into protective custody by the Division of Child and Family Services.

Gardner was arrested and booked into the Washington County Jail when she was released from the hospital.

The investigation into how long Gardner was at the hotel, whether anyone else had been in the room, and why Gardner — a St. George resident — was at the hotel was continuing Monday, Despain said.

Police said they are grateful to the alert hotel patrons who recognized that the young girl on the balcony needed help and called 911.

Gardner was found guilty of DUI in 2013, and was sentenced to 10 days in jail and ordered to seek substance abuse counseling, according to court records. That year, she was also found guilty of intoxication. She pleaded no contest to impaired driving in 2009.

In December, owners of the apartment complex Gardner was living in filed an eviction notice against her, according to court records. In the complaint, St. George Villa Apartments alleged that Gardner violated the complex's noise, disturbances, criminal activity and drug-free housing policy.

Contributing Sandra Yi

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